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One of the best-known and highly regarded masters of traditional Greek
shadow theatre, Eugenios Spatharis, passed away at an advanced age on
Saturday night. The man who for decades devoted his life to keeping
alive the legacy of "Karagiozis" and the entire shadow puppet tradition
in Greece had been in KAT hospital in critical condition for some days,
after a bad fall that would finally prove fatal.

His funeral will take place next Wednesday in the Maroussi cemetery,
with a service beginning at 16:00 in the afternoon in the local
cathedral. On the say day, from 10:00 in the morning until 15:00 in the
evening, his body will be on display in the Spathario Shadow Theatre
Museum in the municipality of Maroussi.

Spatharis was born in Kifissia in January of 1924, the son of original
shadow puppeteer Sotiris Spatharis, and became involved with painting
and the making of shadow puppets after completing his studies. He began
to perform himself during the German occupation of Athens during WWII,
putting on shows in theatres, embassies, the Gennadion library and
other venues. He continued to be involved in shadow theatre throughout
his life, giving countless performances in Greece and abroad and
participating in international festivals and conference on the genre.

He put on several plays based on the hero "Karagiozis" - including some
using real actors instead of shadow puppets with Greek theatre
companies - as well as recording and releasing about 15 Karagiozis
plays as vinyl records. After 1980, his performances were also
broadcast on television.

Spatharis was a member of the Chamber of Artists of Greece and the
UNESCO International Theatre Institute, while he has carried out
several international tours. He also took part in several painting
exhibitions in Athens, Zurich, Paris and New York.

He was awarded the Rome Prize in 1962, the Toscanini medal in 1978 and
several other awards, while in 2007 the Greek culture ministry awarded
him the title of 'Grand Master' in recognition of his great
contribution to his art.

In 1991 he established the Spathario Shadow Theatre Museum in the
municipality of Maroussi, northeast Athens, which has been open since
1996 and seeks to promote the Greek shadow theatre traditions.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photograph showing Spatharis at work, during a
2003 Christmas show with a younger shadow puppeteer in Athens.

The head of the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) Parliamentary
group Alekos Alavanos stressed in an interview appearing in the
newspaper "Real News" on Sunday that Parliament was not a courtroom and
that MPs were not judges. During a joint meeting of SYRIZA MPs and
secretariat on Saturday night, meanwhile, he strongly criticised the
government's decision to end the current session of Parliament early
for the June 7 European Parliament elections.

"We are not a Parliament. We have become a court and one that actually
covers up for everyone," he said in the interview, repeating SYRIZA's
proposal that all cases referred to Parliament by justice be
immediately sent back after a process that was basically a formality.

During statements on Saturday, Alavanos stressed that Parliament should
be open at a time when Greece was in the midst of a period of crisis.

"It is not possible for Parliament to stay closed from May until
October when we are going through a period of great crisis, living in
conditions of an emergency situation," he underlined, while he also
stressed the need for a new budget given that the present budget had
failed.

SYRIZA's head also accused the premier of screening members of his
party from the law and pointed out that the political life of the
country had for years now centred around scandals without anyone
actually being indicted over anything. Alavanos urged friends and
members of SYRIZA to be on "constant alert", support the institutions
and send their own message in the European Parliament elections.

APOGEVMATINI: "A 3 percent starting point for a change of climate.
Nationwide opinion poll by Pulse in view of EuroParliament elections".

AVGI: "Now they are also politically bankrupt" [refers to government's
decision to break up the current Parliament early].

AVRIANI: "George [main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou]
losing the game. The brave resignation of Christos Verelis a catalyst
for developments in PASOK".

CHORA: "Siemens and Man the nightmare of Simitis group. Background: the
violent clash within PASOK".

ELEFTHERI ORA: "He bought time...on credit with a 'receipt' from
Aristotelis Pavlidis and the closing of Parliament as the 'delivery
slip' ".

ELETHEROS TYPOS: "A volcano. Scandals, opinion polls, the economy. Down
the final stretch for the elections with polarisation at its peak. War
tactics by the team of [Prime Minister Costas] Karamanlis and George
Papandreou".

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "Political scene on fire. Closure of Parliament in
order to avoid scandals a boomerang for the government".

EPOCHI: "Closed due to scandals. New Democracy and PASOK trade
accusations".

ETHNOS: "Legal....coup aiming to make scandals statute-barred".

KATHIMERINI: "Parties the 'hostages' of scandals. Surprise at the
premature end of Parliament's work - tough encounter with the
opposition".

LOGOS: "Scandal-mongering generates polarisation. ND and PASOK take up
battle positions in view of EuroParliament polls".